Painting With Water
by SniperCT
Summary: For months, Cassandra has been hiding her true feelings for Rapunzel. For months, Rapunzel has been growing steadily less oblivious, but had never really thought it was even an option. But secrets can't last forever, and Cass figures Eugene is probably going to kill her.
1. Chapter 1

_Step 1 - Do not fall in love with the Princess.  
Step 2 - If you fail step one, do not let the Princess know_

It wasn't that Cassandra _hated_ Eugene. He was a buffoon. Cocky and obtuse and just a little bit on the side of uncultured (just a little bit, really), a man that she wanted to throttle as often as not. No, no, it wasn't that she hated him. In fact, she could respect him. Sometimes. When he had his moments of decency.

It was that Cassandra _resented_ him.

She resented the way Rapunzel looked at him and the way he made her laugh. She resented that he got in the way of her job. She resented that he'd gotten there _first_.

Resting her chin on her hand, Cassandra watched Rapunzel as Rapunzel watched Eugene tell one of his exaggerated stories. There was a light in Rapunzel's eyes, a loving fondness that was almost too painful to watch. Her soft lips were set in a delighted smile, and her face was alert and attentive. Cassandra knew that face very well by now and it was no less beautiful than the day they'd met.

Part of Cassandra's job was keeping Rapunzel _happy_. Days like this, she hardly had to do anything and it made her feel conflicted. Rapunzel was happy, even if Cassandra wasn't the primary source of that. She _should_ be happy for her. She _was_ happy for her. So why did she feel like she wanted to jump off the nearest battlement every time Rapunzel and… And now they were kissing. Of course they were kissing. This hadn't been a problem at first, but lately...

Excusing herself, Cassandra left, pulling her bonnet off as she made her way to her room. There was another part of her job that was very important. She absolutely not even a little bit in no way could fall in love with the Princess.

Step one? Failed months ago.

Which left step two, in that Rapunzel could _never_ find out. As a corollary, neither could Eugene. The only thing worse than pining for Rapunzel while standing next to her would be pining for Rapunzel from a _convent_ because Cassandra was pretty sure that Eugene would relish the chance to get rid of her.

When Cassandra was frustrated, she did one of two things. She cleaned, or she trained. Choosing option two, she changed into her tunic and trousers, grabbed her sword, and headed down to the barracks training ring. And yet, as usual, she couldn't get the Princess out of her mind.

It was impossible not to be drawn to Rapunzel. Her naive innocence, the sheer light she exuded, and her earnest desire to help literally everyone had been like catnip to Cassandra. The girl who'd grown up alone, and the girl who'd chosen to distance herself from others. She must have lasted a good five minutes before she'd volunteered to be her Lady in Waiting. Cass liked to tell herself that it had simply been a way to help her get into the guards eventually and honestly Rapunzel had needed all the help she could get.

"Hey Cass. Want a partner?"

Cassandra lowered her sword and looked over at Rapunzel, who was standing outside the ring with her trusty frying pan and a cocky gin. "I wouldn't want to hurt you, Raps."

Rapunzel spun the frying pan in her hand and gave Cass taunting smile. "Sure you shouldn't be worried that I'd hurt you?"

"You couldn't hurt a fly," Cassandra replied, a little too much fondness creeping into her voice. Despite that, she fell into a ready stance. "Okay Princess, show me what you've learned since last time I laid you out."

Rapunzel always led with her left foot, and today was no exception. But she followed up her lead in with a clever swipe at Cassandra's shoulder and looked really proud of herself for it. Rapunzel could actually be pretty scary when armed with a frying pan. Even though Cassandra had been frustrated and angry at Rapunzel upstaging her during the tournament, watching her fight like that had been distracting for reasons that Cassandra tried not to think about. Because if she thought about it, she'd get distracted, and if she got distracted...

"Ahah, got you!"

Cassandra found herself on her back with Rapunzel on top of her.

This was fine.

"I'm a bit distracted Raps, but that was some good work!"

The smile that beamed off of Raps face was blinding. Cassandra's eyes dropped to her lips and she could recall at least one dream that had started exactly like this. Step two, failing. "Do you think you could get off of me, thanks?"

Giving Cassandra a sheepish look, Rapunzel got to her feet and offered her hand. With barely any time to acknowledge the fact that she missed Rapunzel's weight on top of her, Cassandra took the hand and let herself be pulled up.

"Wow, you hardly ever let me help you!" Rapunzel wrapped her arms around Cass. "I must have hit you harder than I thought."

"Nah," Cass waved her hand. "Consider it a prize for knocking me down."

"I wonder what else I could win."

Though the question was entirely one hundred and fourteen percent innocent, Cassandra bit her tongue, surprised at herself for where her mind just went. When had this gotten so hard to ignore?

Training was out, it was time to resort to plan b. _Cleaning_. Disentangling herself from Rapunzel, she absently brushed the dust off of her trousers. She met Rapunzel's eyes then found herself looking away. "Make me a list. Or we could do a bet."

"A _bet?_?" Rapunzel noticed the way Cassandra had looked away, but she didn't say anything about it. She chewed on her lip, not wanting to press Cass. She'd learned her lesson and she'd just have to wait for Cass to come to her.

Cassandra picked that moment to look back at her, which did nothing to help how she was feeling. "I know, I sound like Eugene. I think I've been around him too much. Like I caught something."

"That's great though!" She hugged Cassandra again, then bounced back on her heels. More than _anything_ she wanted Cassandra and Eugene getting along. They were her Most Important People, the people she loved most in the world. Besides her parents, of course, and Pascal. She really just had a lot of love to give.

So she loved the idea of both Cass and her boyfriend getting _along_ and happy and there'd be _slumber parties_ and they'd tell _ghost stories_ and then cuddle under the blankets and watch the stars through the window.

That was _it_! "I know what to bet."

"We don't even have a contest yet."

"We'll figure that out later. But if I win, you have to come to my slumber party."

"I'm sorry, Raps, what?" She already spent the night once in awhile, when Rapunzel's nightmares were particularly bad. So Cass didn't know what Raps meant by a slumber party unless she wanted her to stay the night, and then she only needed to ask.

Rapunzel folded her arms, making her best impression of a smug person. "You know. Me and you and Eugene and Pascal. We can turn my sheets into a fortress. Tell ghost stories, play games."

It was hard enough being alone in bed with Rapunzel. Being the third wheel to both Eugene and a chameleon was not her idea of a good time. Cassandra could just _imagine_ laying there on the floor while the Princess and her boyfriend snogged on the bed. If there was any torture she _couldn't_ survive, that would be it. The Iron Maiden sounded pleasant in comparison.

"Are you okay?" Reaching out, Rapunzel put her hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "Something is bothering you and I'm here. I'm always here when you're ready."

Rapunzel was still figuring out her boundaries with Cassandra, and her heart was in the right place. It could just get a little frustrating when she got perceptive like this. Cass knew she'd have to be firm to get Rapunzel off of her back.

She stared at Rapunzel, then gently dislodged her hand and squeezed it. "I'm fine. Like I said, I'm a little distracted. When I'm ready to talk about it, I will. I promise."

Since she _would never be ready_ , Cass couldn't possibly break that promise.

"Okay, but in that case you lost the bet so we have to do the slumber party anyway."

Rapunzel gave Cassandra the puppy eyes _and_ the lip bite and she caved. "All right, all right. I'll do your slumber party! This wasn't even a game, but you're stubborn enough to win whatever game we actually play so I'll concede right now."

It was almost worth it for the resulting squee and if Cassandra was honest with herself, she was kind of looking forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

Eugene twisted a finger in his ear as he tried to process what Rapunzel was suggesting. "You want to do a slumber party? Okay, great! But Queen Cobra will be there? _Not_ so great. You should just have, you know," He wriggled his fingers at her. "Lady bonding time. I don't know why I need to be there. I don't really mind, you deserve to have your own friends."

"Eugene, she's not that bad and you know it. I just thought it might be kind of fun."

"I'm just not sure how your dad, the _king_ , would feel about me being in your room that late at night." Eugene had a momentary vision of being beheaded, Cassandra cackling as she brought down the axe.

"With _Cassandra_ there, it won't be a problem."

"Oh, _Oh_ , so she's the _chaperone_!" His face twisted up in agony. "Not sure that's better. I think I'd rather take the execution."

Rapunzel folded her arms, bare foot tapping on the floor. "Do you really hate her that much?"

"Hate? I'm pretty sure she hates _me_. I just like it better when she's down the hall. Or the other side of the kingdom. Maybe somewhere across the ocean. I hear Arendelle is nice this time of year."

"I'll be between you at all times," Rapunzel suggested, still eager to see them getting along. She knew they were capable of it, when they put their differences aside or when she was in trouble. Rapunzel just wasn't in the mood for the latter.

Sighing in the most dramatic fashion possible, Eugene replied, "I can live with that." After all, most of the time it was impossible to argue with Rapunzel.

Rapunzel threw her arms around Eugene and kissed him soundly. "Yes! It'll be _so_ much fun, you won't know what to do with yourself!"

"I'm sure I can figure out a few things."

Maybe Rapunzel's words were prophetic, but hours later, as the moon rose high in the sky out the window, Eugene's snoring rang in her ear. On her right, Cassandra leaned back against the bed underneath the sheet they'd strung up, and glanced over at them. "Three hours, I'm impressed. It must have been so exhausting, watching you paint and losing at chess. But I have to admit, he's actually pretty good when he lets himself be patient."

Rapunzel laughed, keeping her voice low. "I don't mind." They hadn't yelled or sniped at each other at all, which she'd consider a small victory. "Come here."

Reaching over, she put an arm around Cassandra and pulled her against her. She'd always liked this kind of thing. Eighteen years alone with a mother who was hardly around and passive-aggressive with her affections had left her with a keen need for human contact. And Cassandra always smelled so nice and was so warm. Not for the first time, her mind wandered a little in curiosity. She'd seen Cassandra undress more than a few times, and she was beautiful in every way.

But she'd been more closed off than normal lately, and Rapunzel hadn't forgotten. Resting her cheek against the side of Cassandra's head, she closed her eyes. "Think you're ready to talk about it?"

Cassandra couldn't hear anything over the pounding in her chest, and she wasn't sure she could find the words anyway. Instead, she remained silent, closing her eyes and just focusing on the here and now. And she wondered when this had gotten so hard to ignore. It had been easy, before. And on most days it still was, as long as she kept both herself and Rapunzel busy. But then it would be night, and she'd be alone to reflect. Or she'd be laying next to Rapunzel like a safety blanket, listening to her breathe. Or watching her learn what she needed to learn to one day be Queen.

Cassandra realized that at some point she must have given up the pretense that she wasn't in love.

"Whatever is bothering you, I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you, Cassandra." Rapunzel smiled, and snuggled against her. "You couldn't do anything or say anything to change that."

"You sure about that, Raps?" Cassandra whispered, lifting her face towards her. This was dangerous. This was so incredibly dangerous, like she was standing the edge of an abyss looking down and part of her just wanted to give in and leap.

"Of course."

Rapunzel lifted her hand and a refrain of 'don't touch my face don't touch my face' ran through Cassandra's head right until her cheek was being cupped. She sighed and leaned into it, "What did it feel like, when you realized you were in love with him?"

Blinking, Rapunzel looked taken aback. She'd gotten a lot more cautious about Cassandra and romantic feelings ever since she'd gone a _little_ overboard that one time, so she hadn't expected it to come up so soon. Or possibly ever. That didn't mean she wasn't excited for her, and a little jealous.

Wait, why was she jealous? Rapunzel's brows furrowed. That couldn't possibly be an option.

"Rapunzel?"

"Oh! Ah..well… It kind of happened gradually. Okay so it was really fast but everything was happening so fast, but it was a gradual fast." She absently ran her thumb across Cassandra's cheek. "Warm. It felt warm, and bright and ... Like there's this _feeling_ in your chest, and the first time you feel it the world looks different and new. I look at him and everything feels right with the world. And the world hasn't looked the same since."

"Even when he makes you mad?"

She laughed. "When I'm done being mad, yeah. Even a little bit when I'm mad, which _kind_ of makes me a little more mad. But I can't stay mad at him for long."

Cassandra shook her head. "I can't see you staying mad at anyone for very long. I sure can't stay mad at you for longer than a day."

"That's 'cause you love me." Rapunzel leaned her forehead against Cassandra's. "You know. I try to think about where I'll be in ten years. Or twenty. When I'm queen. And Eugene is there at my side. And so are you."

And she was dying to know what had spurned Cassandra to bring up this subject. "So who is he? Or is this another mission?"

"She is nothing you need to worry about." Cassandra felt dazed, Rapunzel's choice of words felt like a kick to the chest and her response came out completely unedited.

Rapunzel's eyes snapped open, and she pulled her head back to look at Cassandra. "She… oh. _Oh_. Oh wow. … That's an option?" A whole mountain of _things_ started sliding into place.

Praying for a god to strike her down, Cassandra nodded.

"Okay that's kind of a relief." Rapunzel leaned her head back against the bed, laughing breezily. "Because sometimes I'd wonder. Except for the one time you were undercover you've never showed interest in a guy. But that didn't make any sense, but now it makes total sense and why doesn't anyone ever talk about that?"

"Some people are a little old fashioned," Cassandra pushed some hair out of Rapunzel's face. "After Queen Elsa betrothed herself to a woman, everyone else kind of started changing their opinions and overturning old laws. Corona was the first, but we've always had a close relationship with that kingdom and your mother had been pushing for that change for years."

"...She's my cousin right? Or was it second cousin? I don't remember, only that my mother thought it would be a good first outing away from Corona. " She remembered her time in Arendelle. That had been one _interesting_ coronation.

It had been not long after Cassandra had met Rapunzel. "Her mother and your mother were cousins. So second cousins."

"Yeah, but you'd think I'd have heard someone talking about that."

Cassandra shrugged her shoulder. "I guess when it's the only option that fits me, I pay more attention to it."

Rapunzel had barely gotten to speak to her cousins, and only after all the excitement had passed. Too much had been going on since then for her to pay much attention to the affairs in other countries, which was probably something she needed to work on. "So do I know her? The girl you like. Is she someone in the castle? The town? Country? When do I get to meet her? I promise I won't go all crazy pants on her. Oh, does she _know?_ Have you even kissed?"

"Whoa, slow down there, Raps." Cassandra laid her head on Rapunzel's shoulder. "No, we've never kissed, she doesn't know, and she's never going to know. It's just something I'm going to have to get over. Being her friend is too important to me. Besides, I don't think she'd ever look at me that way."

Rapunzel frowned, and squeezed Cassandra. A knot tightened in her chest and she told herself it was just because she felt for Cassandra. "She's missing out. You're kind and strong and determined and selfless and you're really good with a sword. Who _wouldn't_ fall in love with you?"

She looked at her again, smiling at Cassandra with an almost adoring expression. "If girls were an option for me, I'd totally fall in love with you."

"How do you know we're _not_?" She couldn't help but issue the challenge. It was stupid and rash, and more Eugene-like then Cassandra would ever admit to any living being. It would be so easy to just kiss her. She'd never know what she would have done next, because Rapunzel kissed _her_ first. Her lips were as soft as she'd imagined them to be, and parted just so against Cassandra's as Rapunzel let out a contented sigh.

Whether it lasted an instant, or an hour, she couldn't say. Cassandra felt that shift Rapunzel had mentioned, like a boulder dislodged from the mountainside in a storm and she failed step two _spectacularly_. She kissed Rapunzel like she was madly, irrevocably in love with her, and like this was her first, last and only chance to do so. The need shouldn't have surprised her. Deep down, she _needed_ Raps to know.

Rapunzel let the kiss linger, responding joyfully to Cassandra's need. It was different from kissing Eugene in some ways, but not in the important ways. Not in the tightening of her chest or the tingling down to her toes or the way her whole body seemed to buzz. It was at once new and exciting, and yet comfortably the same. Cassandra's hands stroked across her face and cupped her cheeks as Cass kissed her desperately and almost vulnerably, and she slid her hands into Cassandra's hair in turn.

The shift was was like moving from painting with oil to painting with water. Different and yet still so beautiful, Rapunzel loved feeling this way. She pulled away, head swimming and lips buzzing and chest humming with warmth and joy and … Eugene's snoring cut through her like a sword and Rapunzel looked at him, then at Cassandra as warmth turned to guilt.

She got to her feet so fast it threw Eugene to the side, startling him awake in time to see his girlfriend disappear out the door. He watched Cassandra stumble to her feet and out the door in the opposite direction. He rubbed at his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things or if Cassandra had been _crying_.

Looking around the room, he spotted Pascal on his branch looking about as confused as Eugene felt. "Fall asleep for ten minutes and all hell breaks loose."


	3. Chapter 3

"Blondie!"

For a woman in bare feet, Rapunzel could run really fast and Eugene was out of breath just trying to catch up to her.

That was his fault for hesitating. To his chagrin and eternal annoyance, he'd briefly considered chasing after Lady Slither. He'd never known that Cass could even cry, it seemed physically impossible. It was so bizarre and alarming that he'd felt compelled to look into it. It didn't mean that he actually cared about her, or anything.

But girlfriend won out over frienemy, so here he was after climbing what was surely ten thousand stairs, to where Rapunzel had found a perch in a window of one of the high castle towers opposite her room.

"Hey..." He approached her slowly and sat next to her. She leaned against him, trembling with unshed tears. "I know my snoring is bad, but I didn't think it was that bad."

"Eugene, you know I love you, right? I love you so much that it hurts to breath when I think about it. I love you so much that..." A soft, choked sob cut her off.

Wrapping his arms around Rapunzel, Eugene pressed his face into her hair. "I know it. I can barely believe it half the time, but I know it. What's wrong, Rapunzel?"

She moved her head, looking at him, their noses almost touching. She didn't know how to tell him, or how he'd react or if telling him was even the right thing to do.

Well, it _was_ the right thing to do, but was it the right thing to do right now? Didn't Cassandra deserve to have her secret kept? At least until she was ready to talk about it. She'd already messed that kind of thing up more than once.

"You can tell me anything, "

Chewing on her lip, Rapunzel's eyes dropped to his chin. "I know. But it's… not entirely my thing to tell."

"It's about Cassandra, isn't it."

Rapunzel nodded.

"Okay, now I thought she was an automaton incapable of that level of emotion, but it looked like she was _crying_. So it wasn't hard to guess."

"Oh no..." Rapunzel buried her face in his chest. "I ruined everything. She's one of my best friends and I ruined _everything_." And when Eugene found out she'd probably ruined everything with him too.

"You can be a bit heavy handed with trying to help, Blondie, but I don't think you could ever ruin anything with her." Eugene tilted her head up by the chin. "She's cold and creepy and a little terrifying, but she's loyal and she cares about you as much as I do. Well, maybe not the same way…"

Rapunzel darted her eyes. "Yeah…."

Eugene raised his eyebrows. Rapunzel didn't exactly have deceptive bones and her expression was a dead give-away. "The same way? You mean …" He spun his hand around. "The butterflies and the kissing?"

She started, staring at him, "You get butterflies?"

"Yes, don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain. But let me get this straight." He slowly waved his hand and closed his eyes. "...That's an _option_?"

"Apparently. Did you know my second cousin, Queen Elsa, is marrying a woman?"

"Huh. I had no idea. In hindsight, kind of makes sense." Eugene shrugged. "Okay I get it. Cass, in a moment of weakness, confessed her undying love for you. Not unexpected, you're amazing after all, but it's not like-"

"I kissed her." Rapunzel blurted, then slapped her hand over her mouth. She would have pulled away, but Eugene kept firm but gentle grip on her.

"... you kissed her." There were all kinds of conclusions he could jump to, but he stared at her and waited patiently for her to clarify.

"She… she uhm. Asked me what it felt like to be in love with you." Rapunzel brushed a lock of gold behind her ear. "So I tried to get her to tell me who she loved. She didn't think she'd be loved back and I tried to tell her that was crazy because _anyone_ would love her. So I tried to reassure her and I don't really know _why_ I did it, but I kissed her."

"Okay, it's okay. That still doesn't explain why you both ran away so dramatically. You're not a bad kisser, I should know, we practice a lot."

Rapunzel let out a short 'ha.' "I think I love her back. I didn't even know that was an _option_ before today. And I still love you, I don't know what to do, I've _betrayed_ you. I never wanted anything to come between us, to change us. You're my _boyfriend_ , Eugene."

"I've always accepted that you liked her. Never really _understood_ it, but I accepted it. If you wanted to be friends with a terrifying ice demon in human form, who was I to argue? If that's your type of girl, that's ... absolutely confusing, but the person that knows your heart best is you. The one thing I have in common with her is how precious you are to us." Eugene was trying to calm himself as much as reassure Rapunzel. "I guess we have two things in common now."

"You're taking this really well," Rapunzel said, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "

He brushed his thumb at a stray tear, then gave her his handkerchief, "I love you. Now the question is, what do _you_ want, Blondie?"

"I want to be with you. In ten years, or twenty or fifty. With a few kids." She blew her nose, then flashed him a sheepish smile. "I was thinking five."

 _Five_ Eugene mouthed, trying to wrap his brain around the idea of _one_. One was terrifying enough!

"And I want Cassandra there too. I mean, I've always seen her there, no matter what happens, but ... "

Setting aside the five kids thing to unpack later, Eugene shook himself and prompted, "But something about that has changed."

"I felt it, Eugene. Kissing her was different, but good different, but the same. In here." She put her hand over his chest. "And I think those feelings have been there for a long time, I just didn't realize it. Oh god, all those nights when she'd be in my room so I could sleep, that must have been driving her crazy!"

Her fingers dug into his shirt, and she stared at him in guilt and desperation. "I don't know what to _do_. I love you. I think … I think I love _her_. But we can pretend this never happened. Go back to the way things were." Rapunzel's fingers twisted harder into the tunic and she sounded desperate. "That's the only way."

The pain in her voice was too much for Eugene to bear. Her conflict, as much as it hurt to watch, was strangely reassuring. He took her hands and kissed her fingertips. "We both know it can't go back to the way things were. You'll stare at each other in longing at best, things will be awkward. Honestly, she'll try to leave. Spare you from having to _make_ the choice, so she'll make it for you."

"Are you sure about that?"

"It's what I'd do if I was her, Blondie." Eugene shuddered. "I can't believe I just imagined being in her cold, deadly shoes."

Leaning in, Rapunzel kissed him. Sweet and hesitant at first, but with a quickly building fire behind it. When she pulled away, Eugene looked dazed and a little turned on. She smiled, sighing in relief. "That's still the same."

Eugene inhaled sharply. "Good to know. "

"I should find Cassandra." Rapunzel wiped her eyes again, but when she moved to stand, Eugene stopped her.

"Let me talk to her."

She gave him a dubious look, and he held up both hands. "I need you to trust me Rapunzel."

"...okay."

He kissed her again, then got to his feet. "I don't know what's going to come of all this, or what's going to happen. But I want you happy, and I don't even need to guess to know she feels the same way. We'll figure this out, you, me and her, together."

"So you admit Cassandra has actual human emotion?"

Eugene exhaled through his nose, folding his arms, and shifting from foot to foot.

"Eugene."

"Fine. Yes. She does. Happy?"

Rapunzel nodded. "I will be if she doesn't run away."


	4. Chapter 4

There were distinct disadvantages to trying to find Cassandra. She knew the castle better than he did, and she was probably the third sneakiest person in the castle, behind himself and Lance.

If she was still in the castle, she was either packing or had ran off to the armory to seek comfort in sharp, pointy objects. Possibly a little of both. God knew that woman had a thing for weapons. He could almost respect that.

Her room was open just a crack, so he nudged it with his toe and peeked in. Cass was on her knees in front of her armour, which was wide open. He'd never actually seen inside it, and he was pretty sure only Rapunzel had, but from this angle it looked like it was filled with weapons and assorted sentimental knick knacks. A painting from Rapunzel, among other things.

"Leave me alone, Fitzherbert."

"How-"

"I could hear you coming a mile away. And smell you farther than that." She didn't turn towards him, making a valiant effort to disguise the shakiness in her voice.

Biting back one of the best retorts he'd ever came up with (and lord, did it hurt to do so), Eugene stepped into Cassandra's room. "You're not going to be able to fit all of that in a backpack."

"I'm going to have to try." Cassandra dug her nails into her legs, squeezing her eyes shut and doing breathing exercises. It mostly helped. "If my dad or the King finds out, I'm taking a one-way trip out of here. Even if they don't…"

She didn't bother to ask him what Rapunzel had said. He was here, it was obvious why and she so tired of hiding it anyway. She got up and turned towards him, "I'm sorry. I really am. This is my fault."

"Hold on, let me-"

"I'll leave quietly, but if anything, _anything_ ever happens to Rapunzel, I'll hunt you down and kill you." She poked Eugene in the chest to emphasize her point. "It's on you to protect her."

"One, we both know she can handle herself," Eugene replied.

"Except when she's too trusting."

"Point taken. But two, you can't leave."

"Trust me," Cassandra replied, agony in her voice. "Trust me, it's better for all of us if I just _go_."

"You mean it's better for _you_. Sit." He sat on her bed, and patted the spot next to him.

Cassandra eyed him, then his hand, trying to figure out what game he was playing. He should be _furious_ , why was he not furious? "What are you on about, Fitzherbert?"

"Cassandra. Sit."

He said her name, that was weird. But she sighed, and sat down. "What did she tell you?"

"That she kissed you. That she's really confused, and guilty, and she doesn't want to hurt either of us."

"...If it makes you feel any better, I probably would have kissed her if she hadn't kissed me."

"Not sure if that does or not," Eugene admitted. "But whatever you were talking about, it kind of made her realize a few things about herself."

"Eugene…" Cassandra didn't want to hear the rest of what he was saying. She wasn't sure how she'd make it through the next few days and weeks and months if he finished what he was saying.

Regardless of her feelings, Eugene continued, "And she loves you, like she loves me. She looked and sounded so _broken up_ about it."

Cassandra buried her face in her hands. "I shouldn't have agreed to that stupid slumber party."

"She doesn't want you to leave, Cass." Eugene's throat bobbed, and he put his hand on her back. "And I kind of agree with her. You're… you know, you're _okay_. And we need to all actually talk about this. The stuff I'm saying, you need to hear from her."

"I don't understand, why aren't you screaming at me? You should be so angry."

He shrugged. "Eh. I was hurt at first, but I worked that through with Blondie. And then she kept talking about it, and it's so obvious how fond of you she is. And then she talked about… well you know that thing where you look at someone or kiss them and just… know?"

"She felt that when she kissed me?" The mixture of hope, fear and anxiety in Cassandra's voice actually made Eugene feel a twinge of sympathy.

"Yeah, that's what she told me." He patted her back awkwardly. "So when did you fall in love with her?"

Still trying to understand what was happening, Cassandra asked, "Do you mean when I actually did or when I realized it, or when I accepted it?"

"All three."

"That first day I met her. She was just… so much light and joy. I volunteered that night to be her handmaid."

"And when did you realize it?"

"Remember the annual Geese Ball a few months ago?"

"That dress she wore?" Eugene guessed. "The one with the… " He held his hand horizontal over the center of his chest.

Cassandra took a shaky breath and nodded.

"Good dress…" Eugene nodded back, and they sat in silent appreciation of _that dress_. She'd never worn it again, but they both counted that a good thing for multiple reasons.

Cass broke the silence first. "She loves you. More than anything. And no matter what she says, I accept that she'll always love you more than me. I just want her happy, and I really, really don't want to go to a convent, but I'm going to see if Arendelle needs-"

Putting his hand over Cass's, Eugene cut her off. "You're not going anywhere, and this, whatever _this_ is going to be, won't work if we try to play favorites. Rapunzel doesn't work that way. Her heart is too big to shut one person out, even a little. I already accepted you were going to be a part of her life a long time ago, this isn't much different. Maybe I'll never fully understand, but then I've never really liked snakes. Her best friend is a lizard, this is already an unusual relationship."

She stared at him with furrowed brows and a cautious expression. "You're taking this really well. Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"Yes Maybe. I don't know. I just know I love her." He shrugged, and looked down at the ground. "And she loves me. And you for some strange reason. Plus it's _really_ hard to handle it when she's crying."

Cassandra winced.

"So what does this mean for…" Eugene gestured between them.

"Eugene, don't let this get to your head, you're actually not that bad of a man, but you're definitely not my type. Not like that, anyway. Sorry."

"It's fine, totally! I guess I'm just a little too much man for you to handle."

"Just a little."

He looked at her, smiling at the overwhelming sarcasm in her voice. "Got any other secrets I should know about?"

Cassandra just shrugged. "Not tonight."

"All right, all right. I guess everyone needs their secrets." Eugene held his arms out, and after a moment, Cassandra let him hug her.

"This isn't so bad," Eugene remarked.

"Yep."

"This is weird. We should stop hugging now."

"Definitely."

"And never speak of this again." Eugene let go.

"Raps must _never_ find out." Cassandra wiped her eyes. "We should find her before she starts worrying that we've murdered each other."

"You know, I just had a _great_ idea for a practical joke…"


	5. Chapter 5

After Eugene had left, Rapunzel had gone back to her room and started paging through her journals, paintings and diaries. She'd hoped to find something that she might have missed, some subconscious marker as to when her love for Cassandra had changed from friendship to something more.

All she could really see at first, was she'd drawn or written about Cassandra nearly as often as she'd done for Eugene, and that had been from the very beginning. It didn't really help; Cass had been her first real friend outside of Pascal and Eugene so it was only natural she gushed about her.

A lot, actually. About how strong and brave she was, how pretty her eyes were. How nice it felt to hug her. A recurring dream she'd ...

Oh.

Rapunzel closed her journal and flopped back onto her bed. "Pascal, I think Cassandra has been an option for a _lot_ longer than I thought."

He chirped, sitting on her chest and looking down at the cover of the journal. He hopped off, and she opened it again as she sat up. "I've never really thought much of it. We're just holding hands. It's purely innocent. But I feel a connection to her that I could never quite explain until now."

Squeaking, Pascal put his foot over her hand.

"I don't know, Pascal. I feel like my stomach is in a knot and I also feel like of like I want to throw up but in a good way. Also a bad way."

"That's… really gross, Blondie."

She turned, seeing Eugene in her doorway, Cass standing next to him. Bolting out of her bed, she rushed over and enveloped both of them in the tightest hug she could manage.

"You're still here." Rapunzel pulled her head back, looking at Cassandra.

"Yep. Eugene was pretty convincing."

She looked between them, then pulled them inside and closed the door. "Okay. So. The whole… uhm, point of this was so you two would get along a bit better. And I kind of, maybe… messed that up."

"Beats being locked in jail." Eugene put his arm around Rapunzel and guided her back to the bed. He sat her down, and then sat next to her. After a moment's uncertainty, Cassandra took her place at Rapunzel's other side.

"Well this is…" Rapunzel leaned against Eugene, then glanced over at Cassandra. She reached over and took her hand. "Uhm."

"Awkward?" Eugene supplied.

"Uncomfortable?" Cassandra suggested.

"A little weird," Rapunzel said.

"That too." Eugene squeezed his arm around her. "So we have a conundrum, and we really need to do something about it."

"Fitzherbert knows a big word, I'm shocked!"

He grinned, "See? This already feels better!"

Ignoring their bickering, Rapunzel glanced between them. "Right, so…"

Eugene just took Rapunzel's free hand and put it over the hand she was holding Cass's with.

The door looked like it was just close enough to bolt to, Cassandra thought. It wasn't a thought she was proud of, she never ran from anything but any time she spent around Rapunzel lately made her want to find a safe exit to escape her emotions. When she looked back to Rapunzel, those big, green eyes stared back at her and shattered all of Cass's armor. "Look, Raps, I…"

"I love you."

"...what?"

"Have you ever looked back at something, and realized that it had been there all along but it had been there the whole time?"

Cassandra's lips twitched, "I might know something about that."

"Do you have any idea how much I wanted you to like me when we first met? And it was way more than I normally want people to like me." Rapunzel squeezed Cass's hand again, talking excitedly. "And the more I thought about it, the more I looked through my journals, the more obvious it was. I love you. Kissing you was just what I needed to make me realize it was even an option for me."

Not knowing what to expect from all of this, Cassandra was a little taken aback. She'd followed Eugene in a daze all the way back to Rapunzel's room, and everything was having a hard time really sinking in. She couldn't actually believe that Eugene was okay with this. That Rapunzel was okay with this. That _she_ would be okay with this. The part that scared her the most was that the answer to all three was probably yes.

Taking Cassandra's silence as a reason to continue, Rapunzel said, "I love Eugene. And we're going to get married some day, when we're ready. But when I've thought about it, you've always been there at my side. Not as my Lady in Waiting, but as my friend. And I want more than that, I want to _explore_ this, I want you to feel happy, I know we can't go back to what we were before but what if I don't want to?"

Marrying Rapunzel hadn't ever been a part of even the most wild thoughts Cassandra had had. What worked in Arendelle might not work in Corona, even if they probably could have figured out the heir thing. In truth, she'd always assumed that Eugene would either be there or be dead. And she didn't _actually_ want him dead most of the time, but she hadn't wanted to be in an 'other woman' kind of position either. What did that make this? "Not ending up in a convent would make me happy. Not leaving _you_ would make me happy."

"Maybe we should all say what we want." With those words, Eugene got to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back as he looked down at both of them. "I want Rapunzel happy. I want her safe and sound, I want her to be able to paint and dance and sing and do all the things that make us and the people love her. Where she goes, I'm meant to go, until I'm old and grey, until I'm buried in the ground."

Okay, so now Rapunzel was crying, but she was smiling too, and Cassandra brushed at her tears and prayed she wasn't going to suddenly wake up, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with him. Everything he just said, I want too."

Rapunzel nodded, blinking the water from her eyes. "Okay but… you guys can't get jealous and you have to get along. I mean, at least as much as you have been, I think if you got along too well I'd worry you were replaced by plant people. But we have to trust each other." They weren't even being all that cruel with each other. It was almost like a friendly vibe between them. Almost.

"Tell you what," Eugene said. "If we have a problem, we talk about it. We don't _hide_ it from each other."

He shot a look at Cassandra. "Right?"

"Right." So this thing, it was a thing that was happening, and Cassandra looked between them. She was scared to feel the elation that was building inside her, that if she did let herself feel it, something could crash down and crush it, and her.

"If it makes you feel better, I won't play favorites. Except for Pascal." Pascal always came first. Her first and oldest friend.

"Supplanted by a lizard." Eugene clutched at his chest.

"Did you expect anything else?" Cassandra asked.

"Never had a passing thought otherwise."

Leaning in suddenly, Rapunzel kissed Cass. It was light, and quick and affectionate and left her grinning from ear to ear.

And the world didn't end, even though Eugene was standing right there. How could it? She looked so happy, and when she looked at him her smile made his heart melt. "You guys hungry? I was thinking Pascal and me, we could raid the kitchen."

Pascal chirruped, nodding his head as he crawled up into Eugene's shoulder. His seal of approval was probably a good sign.

Cassandra wasn't actually that hungry, but she understood what Eugene was doing and nodded. "I could use a little snack, yeah."

"Something cheesy," Rapunzel suggested. She bounced to her feet in a swirl of hair, kissing Eugene. She broke it, staring into his eyes and whispering, "Thank you, I love you so much."

She watched him go, then twirled towards Cass. "Probably not the only talk we'll be having about this, but…"

"I love you," Cass blurted, months and weeks and days of build up released in three little words. "I didn't plan to fall in love with you."

"It just kind of happens, doesn't it." Rapunzel sat back down, and stroked Cass's cheek. "I'm glad… I'm glad for what happened today. This feels right."

"I feel like I'm going to wake up any minute."

"You don't have to hide this anymore."

"Not around you, but I doubt your parents or the court will understand," Cassandra pointed out. "Less the me thing and more the three of us thing."

"I'll bet we'll have my mom in our corner?"

"Probably, but I'd rather not push our luck." Maybe when Rapunzel was on the throne they could be more open. Cass was content either way.

Deciding that was a problem for tomorrow-her, Rapunzel leaned in, "Can I kiss you again?"

She'd barely finished speaking before Cassandra had pulled her in, kissing her deeply. Laughing against Cass's lips, she threaded her arms around her shoulders, then slid into her lap.  
Rapunzel crawling into her lap sent Cassandra into a dizzying tail spin, her head swimming like she'd had an entire bottle of wine. She was glad for the air when Rapunzel's head pulled away, only to lose her breath all over again at the open, loving expression on Rap's face as she trailed the back of her hand down Cass's cheek. "I never stopped to think about how pretty you are. I feel like I was missing so much."

"Coming from you, that's a huge compliment." Cassandra's hands slid down to Rapunzel's hips, then rested on her thighs. Something shifted in Rapunzel's expression, and the look she gave Cass made the room feel suddenly very hot.

"Cass?" Rapunzel's hand covered Cassandra's, but she didn't move it.

How many of Cass's dreams had started like this? Sounding like she'd just spent three weeks in the desert, Cassandra replied, "Trying to decide if I'm actually awake right now."

"What, exactly, are we doing in these dreams?" Rapunzel tried to make the question sound sexy, but it came out more innocent than she'd intended.

She wasn't very good at that kind of thing, not that Eugene had ever really minded, because it somehow sounded sexier than if she'd succeeded. At least it did to Cassandra, who wanted to crawl into Rapunzel's closet. Or jump into the moat. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Definitely." She sucked in her lower lip and gave Cassandra the _eyes_ and Cass was certain that Raps was doing it on purpose this time.

So in retaliation, she leaned in and whispered hotly in Rapunzel's ear. When she pulled back, Rapunzel's eyes were wide and her face beet red and Cassandra smiled smugly. "Among other things, Raps."

"Okay," Rapunzel breathed.

"Okay, what?"

"We should try that. Sometime. I mean. People who love each other _do_ that and, I mean I'm sure it's different than it is with Eugene but it sounds _really_ nice and I want to feel that way with you too."

"I did not need to know that about you and Eugene," Cassandra rasped, mind spinning. If she didn't already know he was a decent guy in his own weird way, she'd want to kill him. It probably helped that Rapunzel was in her lap and looking at her with a kind of earnest expression that made her body light up like a candle.

"He does have the hands of a thief."

Cassandra groaned, "Raps, if you're trying to kill the mood you're succeeding."

Rapunzel pushed some of her hair back behind her ear, "Sorry."

"It's okay. It's just…he'll be back any minute and I kind of want you uninterrupted and to myself the first time we do that." She took a breath, fingers digging into Rapunzel's legs. She couldn't quite believe she was having this conversation but that was kind of the theme of the night. "When we're ready for that."

"I'm ready," Rapunzel whispered, leaning her forehead against Cassandra's. She was the kind of person to _enthusiastically_ go all in when she decided on something, and she had to admit she was incredibly curious about a lot of different things, all of them having to do with Cassandra. "For whenever you are."

"Probably sooner rather than later if you keep looking at me like that," Cassandra admitted. She tilted her head back as Rapunzel started to nuzzle her neck. "I just need a little time to let all this sink in."

"If it makes you feel better, I made us wait awhile too." Eugene moved in from the doorway, setting a tray piled high with cheese, crackers and fruit onto Rapunzel's table.

When Cassandra stiffened at Eugene's voice, Rapunzel put her arm around her and held her close until she relaxed. She mumbled against her skin, "It's okay, this is okay, remember?"

Cassandra nodded, the response meant for both of them.

Rapunzel nibbled Cassandra's neck, kind of like a promise, then lifted her head to beam at Eugene. "That looks delicious!"

"I even snuck a bottle of wine," Eugene said proudly, pulling they able closer to the bed and sitting next to them.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I could actually kiss you." Cassandra reached around Raps for the bottle, only to have Raps smack her hand away.

"One glass, that's it!"

 _I'll make it a big one_ , Eugene mouthed to her. Out loud, he said, "Is it just me or did the floor suddenly get _very_ cold."

Rapunzel laughed, grabbing an apple before making herself comfortable with her head in Eugene's lap and her feet in Cassandra's. When she looked up at Eugene, Cassandra noted that her expression was just a little different than how she looked at her. Like Rapunzel already had a look that was meant for each of them alone. She had the sudden urge to cry again.

Instead, she rubbed Rapunzel's feet in between sampling from the platter. Except for the extra intimacy between her and Raps, this didn't feel all that different from other similar nights. She still felt like if she didn't walk on eggshells it would all come crashing down, but she thought she'd get over that with time.

The way Rapunzel was drinking in their attention made her stop worrying about that. Her eyes were closed, and she made little whimpering sounds every time Cassandra stopped rubbing her feet or Eugene stopped stroking her hair. Cassandra grinned at Eugene.

"Do I have anything to do tomorrow?" Rapunzel asked, eyes finally opening. She realized it was getting late.

"Not until after lunch." At the moment Cass couldn't remember exactly what it was and she didn't want to leave to check her schedule. "Why?"

"Can you both stay tonight?"

Eugene opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again then thought better of it and stared at Rapunzel, waiting for her to _elaborate_.

"I'll stay between you at all times," Rapunzel assured him, before she realized how that sounded and flailed her hands. "Not like that!" Of course, that got her thinking about the way it sounded, "Not that it's a bad thing or anything. Maybe...eventually? No, no, I mean…"

"Okay that's a talk we can have way in the future," Cassandra said, putting her hand on Rapunzel's arm to save her from flailing any further. Like a lot of things, it was something they take a little bit at a time.

"Yeah. Way, way in the future, I'm not ready for the scales." Besides, it was pretty obvious to Eugene at this point that Cassandra didn't go for men. He didn't mind, honestly the thought of Rapunzel getting all the attention was kind of a turn on. Plus, _clearly_ Rapunzel was the only one immune to Cassandra's venom.

"I suppose we should.. you know.. get used to each other, and things," Rapunzel said, laughing and darting her eyes. She got up and moved to behind her privacy screen to change. It gave her a moment to collect herself as she was starting to question everything. If this was the right thing, if it felt right, if...

"We're going to need some kind of signal." Eugene rubbed his chin. "Put a sock on the door, something like that. Oh, I know, we can set up an elaborate bell and pulley system-"

"Wait, hold on." Cassandra waved her hands back and forth in front of her, "Signal for _what_?"

Eugene took Cassandra's hand and said very gently, "You see, when two people love each other very much…"

"You guys should get ready too." Rapunzel emerged from behind the screen wearing her favorite blue nightgown. Not wanting Cassandra to have to leave, she threw her a gown.

Flashing back to the nights she'd spent in Rapunzul's bed helping her fight her nightmares, Cassandra completely missed the gown. It landed on her head and she took a moment before she yanked it off. Nightgowns were simultaneously the worse thing ever and the best thing ever but had Eugene just suggested…?

Once changed, Cassandra crawled into bed on Rapunzel's right side, laying on her back and trying to take up as little space as humanly possible. She felt the bed move, then shift again.

"Cass…" Rapunzel slid her arms around Cassandra, kissing her cheek and making her roll over to face her. "Come here."

Eugene moved against her, his arm looping lazily around her waist as he fit in against her back like a puzzle piece. In her arms, Cassandra burrowed her face into her neck, the woman fitting neatly along her body in ways that had suddenly taken on new and interesting meanings. Rapunzel was aware of every square inch of warmth both behind and in front of her.

Cassandra sighed against her throat and Eugene in her ear and just like that, it all felt _right_ again.

"I love you," Rapunzel whispered, and got a chorus of 'I love yous' in return.


End file.
